MRI Shoulder Cost in Missouri
Mri joint upr extrem w/o dye
Missouri Medicare physician rate (2026)
-6.4% vs nationalAverage of 3 localities. Office range $183.20–$197.50.
Your ZIP in Missouri
Enter a ZIP code to see which Missouri locality covers you: metro St. Louis, metro Kansas City, or rest-of-state areas like Springfield, Columbia, Joplin, and the Bootheel.
What this number is
The figures on this page are 2026 Medicare physician allowed amounts for a specific CPT code: the professional fee, adjusted by geographic practice-cost indices. They are not a hospital chargemaster price, not your insurer's contracted rate, and not a quote. Hospital facility fees, anesthesia, implants, imaging reads, and pathology are billed separately when they apply.
National vs Missouri
Where Missouri ranks for this CPT
CPT 73221 by Missouri locality
| Locality | Office |
|---|---|
| metropolitan st. louis | $197.50 |
| metropolitan kansas city | $195.38 |
| rest of missouri | $183.20 |
PE GPCI ranges from 0.862 to 0.952 in Missouri. That index is why the same CPT is not one price statewide.
MRI Shoulder and how Missouri is priced
Missouri is a three-locality state: metropolitan St. Louis and metropolitan Kansas City are each priced separately, and everywhere else falls into a rest-of-state locality with lower geographic adjustments. Both metro localities approve higher amounts than outstate Missouri, and the Kansas City locality applies only to the Missouri side of that metro, since the Kansas side prices under Kansas's statewide locality. Springfield, Columbia, and the rural counties all share rest-of-state factors. The metro-versus-outstate gap is the main pricing story here.
St. Louis and Kansas City hold the state's academic medical centers and most of its specialty depth, drawing patients from far beyond Missouri's borders, including southern Illinois and eastern Kansas. Outstate Missouri is served by regional hubs in Springfield, Columbia, and Cape Girardeau, with the Ozarks and Bootheel among the harder places to reach specialty care. Rural hospital viability has been a persistent concern across the state.
This procedure: A shoulder MRI without contrast (the upper extremity joint MRI code) images the rotator cuff tendons, labrum, and cartilage that X-rays cannot see, making it the key test for suspected rotator cuff tears and persistent shoulder pain. You lie still with the arm positioned at your side inside the scanner for 20 to 40 minutes. It is painless, though holding a sore shoulder motionless is the hardest part for many patients.
What Is MRI Shoulder?
A shoulder MRI without contrast (the upper extremity joint MRI code) images the rotator cuff tendons, labrum, and cartilage that X-rays cannot see, making it the key test for suspected rotator cuff tears and persistent shoulder pain. You lie still with the arm positioned at your side inside the scanner for 20 to 40 minutes. It is painless, though holding a sore shoulder motionless is the hardest part for many patients.
What Affects the Cost
- Freestanding imaging centers price this scan dramatically below hospital outpatient departments.
- Suspected labral tears sometimes require an MR arthrogram instead, where dye is injected directly into the joint first, adding an injection procedure and a different code.
- Insurers frequently require completed X-rays and weeks of conservative care before approving, so those upstream costs are part of the pathway.
- A positive finding often leads to orthopedic consultation, injections, or arthroscopic surgery, each a new spending episode.
- The radiologist's reading fee is a separate component of the total.
Questions to Ask Before Booking
- 1.Does my insurer require X-rays and therapy first, and does my record show them?
- 2.Do you suspect a labral tear needing an arthrogram, and how much more does that cost?
- 3.What is the price at a freestanding center versus the hospital?
- 4.Will the surgeon you might refer me to accept this facility's images, or would I face a rescan?
- 5.Is the radiologist fee included in the quote?
Other featured procedures in Missouri
MRI Shoulder in other states
MRI Shoulder in Missouri: questions
How much does mri shoulder cost in Missouri?
The 2026 Medicare physician office rate for CPT 73221 averages $192.03 across 3 Missouri localities, from $183.20 in REST OF MISSOURI to $197.50 in METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS. The hospital physician rate averages $192.03. Enter a ZIP for the exact locality.
Does the rate change inside Missouri?
Yes. CMS splits Missouri into 3 payment localities. For this CPT the office physician fee spans $14.30 from the lowest to highest locality. Enter a ZIP code to see which Missouri locality covers you: metro St. Louis, metro Kansas City, or rest-of-state areas like Springfield, Columbia, Joplin, and the Bootheel.
What will a Medicare patient owe for the physician fee?
After the Part B deductible, coinsurance is usually 20% of the allowed amount: about $38 for the office physician line or $38 for the hospital physician line in Missouri. Medigap may cover that 20%. This is not the hospital facility fee.
Is this the full mri shoulder bill in Missouri?
No. $192.03 is the Medicare physician allowed amount for CPT 73221. Anesthesia, facility fees, implants, and other CPT codes billed the same day are extra. Missouri ranks #15 of 51 states on this physician line (6% below the national office rate of $205.08).